Mansa, Gujarat; July 23, 2022: Shri Amit Shah, Honourable Home Minister of India, inaugurated The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s new kitchen on July 23, 2022, to launch the organisation’s school feeding endeavour in Mansa, Gujarat. The new unit is built-in partnership with IndusInd Bank Limited will be the Foundation’s 64th kitchen in the country. Through this kitchen, Akshaya Patra will serve nutritious mid-day meals to 26,000 children studying in 190 schools in the region as a part of the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN) initiative.

Honourable Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel, and Honourable Minister of Education, Shri Jitubhai Vaghani graced the occasion as Guests of Honour. Other dignitaries in attendance were also present during the event. On behalf of Akshaya Patra, Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, and Shri Chanchalpati Dasa, Vice-Chairman, were present. The event was presided by patron donors from IndusInd Bank, Mr. Sumant Kathpalia, Managing Director & CEO; Ms. Shetal Mehta – Zonal Head, CCBG; Mr. Rakesh Mehta – Zonal Head, Consumer banking; Mr. Ashish Mehta – Lead, CSR Governance and Compliance. 

Post the inauguration ceremony, the dignitaries were taken on a tour of the kitchen facility. All the dignitaries unequivocally commended Akshaya Patra’s efforts to address classroom hunger and malnutrition in India through its network of kitchens and assured their support and encouragement.

Shri Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, said, “At the very outset, I want to thank the Government of India for the opportunity to serve the children of our country. Their continued support in the form of grants and subsidies as well as grains from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Food & Civil Supplies Corporations has been pivotal to our efforts to ensure that children do not have to choose between education and food.” Acknowledging the support of the State Government, he said, “Our association with the Government of Gujarat started in 2007 and I can proudly say that it has only strengthened with time. Their valuable support enables us to serve over 4.5 lakh children in the state.” He further said, “We are immensely grateful to our Honourable Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah Ji, for taking time off from his busy schedule to be with us here today on this auspicious occasion. He has always been a strong pillar of support for our initiatives not just in Gujarat, but across the country. It has always been our endeavour to serve society while ensuring sustainability. In Gujarat, we currently feeding in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Bhavnagar, Kalol, Bhuj and Jamnagar through our seven centralised kitchens. The Mansa kitchen, which will be our 8th kitchen in the state, will add 26,000 to the overall feeding volume. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to IndusInd Bank for their invaluable support in this endeavour. This partnership has played a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability that is integral to our efforts.”

Mr. Sumant Kathpalia, Managing Director & CEO, IndusInd Bank said “At IndusInd Bank, we believe that education plays an important role in poverty alleviation. Therefore, making a difference to the education journey and the lives of children attending government schools is an important pillar of several of the Bank’s CSR programmes. Hence, we are proud to partner with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to setup and run this kitchen in Gujarat, which will prepare nourishing mid-day meals for 26,000 children belonging to low-income families. Since this will be a good incentive for children to attend school regularly, we believe that this initiative has the potential to brighten the future of these children and their families.”
 
Akshaya Patra’s newly inaugurated Mansa kitchen has a built-up area of 1,383 Sq. M., and is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure. It has a 47.5 kW-capacity solar plant and a solar hybrid water heating system for cooking of 12,000 litres. The green energy initiative will reduce the time of the cooking batch cycle, save energy and increase system reliability. Similarly, the facility features gas-based cooking with modernised cauldrons to give the food a homely taste, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) to provide a comfortable environment in the kitchen, Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) with a capacity of 50,000 litres per day, incorporating with Biogas generation, among other things.
 
As is the practice, Akshaya Patra’s mid-day meals for Mansa, Gujarat, are customised to suit the local palate so that they are not just nutritious, but also delicious. The menu includes vegetable pulav, jeera pulav, veg khichdi, dal dhokli, sukhi bhaji, mixed pulses, louki chana dal, roti, thepla, sukhadi with groundnuts, roasted desi chana chat, roasted split masala sing and sweet churma. 
 
On this occasion, the book ‘Sing, Dance and Pray: The Inspirational Story of Srila Prabhupada’, Founder Acharya of ISKCON was launched by Honourable Minister of Home Affairs and Union Minister of Cooperation of India. 

This book provides insight into Srila Prabhupada’s inspirational life story; The visionary seed of Akshaya Patra was implanted as a result of his inspiration. 

About The Akshaya Patra Foundation
 
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation that strives to address classroom hunger and malnutrition in India. By implementing the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Government and Government-aided schools, Akshaya Patra aims to fight hunger and, at the same time, bring children to school. Since 2000, Akshaya Patra has worked towards reaching out to children with wholesome food every single school day.
 
The Foundation is continuously leveraging technology to cater to millions of children. Its state-of-the-art kitchens have become a subject of study and attract curious visitors from around the world. Using these highly mechanised units of centralised kitchens, Akshaya Patra is able to achieve the highest levels of hygiene by reducing human contact with the food.
 
In partnership with the Government of India and various State Governments and the inestimable support of many philanthropic donors and well-wishers, Akshaya Patra has grown from humble beginnings serving just 1,500 school children across five schools to becoming the world’s largest (not-for-profit run) mid-day meal programme, serving wholesome food to over 1.8 million children from 19,039 schools across 14 states and two union territories in India.